Tag Archives: Leibniz day

It’s also Canada’s 150th birthday, but Leibniz day takes precedence for me. The guy invented calculus, yo. Would Canada even exist without calculus?

I GUESS WE’LL NEVER KNOW, WILL WE

(Sorry, I’m hyper.)

I also did a 30-mile walk this afternoon/evening. It took me 6 hours and 18 minutes, but I kept a pace of 4.77 MPH despite it being obscenely hot and then obscenely thunderstormy. My feet/legs didn’t feel any worse than they do after a typical 15-mile walk, so hey, that’s cool. I’mma try it again on Monday.

You know what the only downside is to LeibnizFest?* Reading the last chapter of that Antognazza biography.

Man, is it sad.

Leibniz did not have a very good time at the end of his life. “Leibniz’s last years were marred by frustration and loneliness,” is the first sentence of that last chapter, and unfortunately it is a very fitting first sentence. First, he’d outlived almost everyone he’d ever communicated with (most of them died in the 1690’s; Leibniz lived until 1716) and thus had very few people to communicate with. Second, he was still trying to recover his reputation after the whole calculus debate with Newton (and actually, I shouldn’t say “after” yet because Newton and his cronies (mostly his cronies) dragged that thing out well past Leibniz’ death). Third, he wanted desperately to keep traveling, but injury, poor health, and prior obligations basically forced him to stay put for a good several years. A quote of his from the bio: “I am shut in my room working and I hardly ever leave it.” This is coming from a man who took on innumerable projects just so that he’d have the excuse to travel and converse with people of different backgrounds and skills, so it’s super sad. And then, of course, there’s the fact that he basically died alone and was given very little recognition for his accomplishments until well after his death.

It’s heartbreaking to me to hear all the crappy things that happened to him in the last five or so years of his life. Someone with such a great mind, such compassion, and such good spirit deserved something better at the end.

UGH IT JUST MAKES ME UPSET, OKAY?

To end LeibnizFest on a lighter note, have a look at this Leibniz-centric website that has pretty much everything you could ever want on the amazing polymath. I have it bookmarked. I visit it a few times a week.

I suggest we all mass-email Google until they make a Google logo for display on Leibniz’ birthday (at least for every country except Canada). The guy did SO MUCH! He created the freaking binary system.

Seriously.

They could spell “Google” in binary!

Okay, it’s a little long, but they’re Google, they rule the world. They could maybe make the binary into little blocks.

Anyway.

Choco Leibniz and calculus for all! Find an ostentatious wig, put it on, and be awesome. Channel the amazingness that is Gottfried.